Possible Relo: What are the best suburbs/schools near Atlanta? 600-800k

I may be relocating. Because my job will cover the "SE region", I can choose to live in Charlotte, Atlanta, or Miami. We are looking closely at Charlotte but also considering Atlanta

Priorities in Order of Importance:
1. Schools and No crime (we have a 2 year old and one soon on the way)
2. Good resale value ("protected" neighborhoods where new properties do not pop up every 15 minutes dilluting the value of existing homes)
3. Home with all the amenities (no historical renovations). We want the 3500 sq ft McMansion
4. Decent commute to the airport. (my job will require heavy travel but I'd rather live in northern Atlanta)
5. Somewhat close to Asian population (an obvious advantage over Charlotte)

Bottom line: We want the best Suburban neighborhood we can afford with somewhat ease of access to to the airport but close to shopping and an Asian marketplace.

Help the community by answering this question:

Answers

JC - Both GA MLS and FMLS, the two listing services in Atlanta, do not allow us to include square footage in the listings. I can provide you with the square footage as recorded in the tax records for any property you may be interested in.

JC,
Typically the Relo companies suggest certain compainies that they have relationships with, just as an added service when the transferee is moving to an area in which they might not know anyone. But, as I did when I moved here, the transferee is free to work with whatever agent they feel will know the area best. The first agent we were "assigned" worked mainly downtown Atlanta in the condos, and we ended up working with an agent in North Fulton that was better prepared to advise us on the area.

To answer your follow up question... real estate agents in Georgia are restricted in quoting square footage. Some years ago someone sued over sq. footage... seems you can count it different ways (some include finished basements, some include garages etc.) What we can do is report sq footage from the tax records (although this is not always accurate). You are not alone in being frustrated by this rule.
If you are going to make a lot of trips to the airport you will have an easier time if you travel non rush hour times. Also, there is a subway (MARTA) that you can take from Sandy Springs all the way to the airport. Traffic is a big issue here and I would not recommend going further north than Alpharetta if you need to commute during rush hour.
I have helped others who have moved and chose Roswel and Alpharetta over any other place in the country.
Another thing that could be confusing is the recent incorporation of cities that formerly had an Alpharetta address... now they are Johns Creek and Milton. Parts of Duluth are also in North Fulton. A little confusing, but a great place to live. I've been here 26 years.

JC,
Having relocated myself from South Florida, I can appreciate your requirements, as we were looking for a similar area. After much research and looking, we settled on North Fulton, specifically Roswell. I would say Alpharetta / Roswell would be a great place to start. They both have a great sense of suburban community, while still being a convenient commute into Atlanta. Also, being well established, there is not as much new construction as you might find in Forsyth County. If you'd rather be more in town with a suburban feel, I'd say Dekalb County has several beautiful communities.

Hope this helps, and feel free to browse my website for detailed reports of area homes.

What your looking for should be located in my area! Johns Creek/Suwanee has some of the best schools in the Gwinnett/South Forsyth area.

Homes here maintain value and there are many newer McMansions in this area to consider. Some subdivisions for you to consider are St. Marlo, St. Ives, McGinnis Reserve, River Club, Edinburg, and I have many more great reccomendations for you. If you would like to see a sample of homes available in these subdivisions you can contact me with your e-mail address and I would be happy to send them to you. From what you described I'm sure you will find exactly what you desire.

Be sure to contact me when you get ready to make your move. I'm a relocation specialist with Cartus relocation. Cartus is one of the largest relocation companies in the world. Odds are if your company has a relocation package for you it's Cartus. You can request me directly and I'm already in their network!

Hello,
Atlanta is a great place to relocate and there are lots of great neighborhoods that would meet your criteria. North Fulton county would be a great area to start looking in with many beautiful newer homes in newer subdivisions. There are many neighborhoods that came to mind when I read your question. The schools in North Fulton are known for their excellence. If you haven't already, check out http://www.greatschools.net and Trulia's shcools information. You could start with the following zipcodes just to get an idea of the houses in yoiur price range. 30005,30022,30097 in Fulton County.

Charlotte is a great city too but Atlanta has so much to offer everyone.

It;s an easy drive to the airport if you can avoid doing it during rush hour. Access into Atlanta is easy from Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Duluth,

Good Morning JC. One area for you to consider would be Duluth in Gwinnett County. Excellent schools along with a diverse population and close to shopping as well as an Asian Marketplace. Your commute to the airport would be via I-85 and I-75 and should be about 45 minutes.

There are multiple communities for you to choose from. If you would like I will be happy to set up an account for you to receive properties that meet your criteria via email. Feel free to contact me, I will be happy to help.

Hi,
Being from GA, I think I can answer honestly. Look north of mid-town to Cumming. Depending on your work/home location traffic is a big consideration. A lot of the new cities like John's Creek are very nice, in your target price range as well as good schools.
Good Luck

Atlanta is a great place to work, live and play. Based on the criteria that you mentioned, I would suggest looking in areas such as North Cobb and North Fulton. Both areas have great schools and also have corporate offices for quite a few fortune 500 companies. Feel free to contact me for additional information.

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45 min from airport, quiet community, excellent no maintenance house, new pool, basement with full living, near lake, know of 2 delta pilots (home base Atlanta) choice to live here. email me if interest and for pictures

You can get a very nice house for under that price range. My family lived in Woodstock Georgia and we had a 3200 square foot Mcmansion for under 300 grand. Some people I knew were thinking of moving to Paulding County. You can get a massive house there for under 500 grand. Put some money in the bank and get a great deal on your mansion.

JC,
One more thing, you said you were considering Miami.
Be sure you know what you are getting in to there. I lived there for about 8 years and I would never choose to live there again. The tropical look and feel is alluring, but I enjoy visiting much more than I did living there. Moving your family is a huge decision and you are right to spend a lot of time in researching your final destination. I have contacts in Miami that can talk to you about living there, a lot of my family and friends are still there.
Tony Teixeira
770-851-5050

Hi JC, I'm sorry to see that more people haven't pointed you to the Western part of Atlanta. There are some unbelievable finds over there. In particular, there's a community called Tributary. At the most, it's a 20 minute commute to the airport (12-15 miles depending on your location in Tributary). The home values are more than protected. There will eventually be 3000 homes, there's about 300 right now. Just last month, even in this slow market, they had 14 sales. I'm pretty in tune with the community, I live there and I used to work there. It's also a 20 minute drive in to Atlanta, 15-18 miles, depending on where you are in Tributary. Tributary itself is loaded with parks and play areas and there is such a close knit community, it's like none I have seen before. They've got mcmansions, and some of them are a real deal. There are 12 different builders, so you need to know what builders have been selling the most of late... obviously, those ones are less willing to "deal". There are movies in the park every month, and just about every week, there's a different event in the community. Just last night, we threw a community-wide shindig and had about 100 people show up, pretty nice! Anyway, if you care about home values, lack of crime, commute times, having a real sense of community, having a babysitter on every corner and a community full of green space, did I mention it backs up to a 2500 acre state park... did I mention every home in there is built in an environmentally-friendly way conforming to Earthcraft House http://(www.earthcraft.org) standards? It's a great place to live and I would love to impart more advice on it. Additionally, I can steer you to some other hidden jewels.
Whatever you decide, best of luck to you and your family.
You can call me at 770-851-5050
Tony Teixeirahttp://www.tonytex.jennypruitt.com

Final Follow Up. Thanks to everyone who have responded. Ill email some of you to get more details in my search. Im new to Trulia and have found it extremely helpful, especially the realtor feedback about the local neighborhoods.

Final Question: Assuming everything works out and we do move to Atlanta (still unknown at this stage - my wife's first choice is Charlotte, mine Atlanta) , the company will likely offer me a full relo-package. I believe most companies "suggest" certain agents???? I assume I don't have to use them?? I respect your time, knowledge and expertise and I don't want to waste anyone's time assisting me if there is no chance of earning my business.

Thanks for all of your answers. Follow Up Question: Why is there no sq. feet (or even approximations) in these listings? How can anyone make an informed decision? Who buys a house without knowing the approximate size??? Is this a Georgia MLS issue?